Newton South mourns loss of JV baseball coach Harvey Soolman

Monday

May 14, 2018 at 9:24 PMMay 15, 2018 at 2:09 PM

Scott Souza ssouza@wickedlocal.com

NEWTON – Newton South varsity head baseball coach Mike Aiena has had to help his players process the loss of a coach, as he has dealt with the loss of a longtime friend, over the past two days after the sudden death of junior varsity coach Harvey Soolman.

Soolman, who played, coached and umpired baseball for more than 50 years, was on a walk when he suffered an apparent heart attack on Sunday.

A longtime fixture in the Boston Park League, the Brookline native had spent the last two seasons coaching the South JV team.

South athletic director Patricia Gonzalez said the school contacted each of the players in the program, and their families, on Sunday and made grief counselors available during school hours on Monday. All varsity, junior varsity and freshman games were postponed on Monday as the players and coaches met as a program with counselors after school.

“We told the parents that if the students were in school and needed to leave classes we told them to connect with our counselors,” Gonzalez said. “All the teachers knew about it. So we were all aware to support them.”

Gonzalez said there was some interaction with counselors at the team meeting and that players have been told they can reach out any time for support in the future.

“We talked about how emotions can be triggered by something like this,” Gonzalez said. “Even if you not extremely close with the person, it can trigger memories of other experiences that may have been buried away.

“They are available for you and will always be here.”

Aiena said his players have responded as well as can be expected to the sad news, coming on the heels of the alarming news that freshman baseball coach Jose Hernandez-Disla had been fired after his arrest on two counts of felonious sexual assault on May 8.

“They’re resilient,” Aiena said following the team meeting. “I’ve had 20 years of knowing Harvey. So my bond is maybe a little deeper than they had in two years. But it’s still a shock with everything we’ve gone through in the last week or so.”

Aiena’s relationship with Soolman grew out of their connection in the Boston Park League where Soolman was a longtime player and manager. Soolman was inducted into the Boston Park League Hall of Fame in 2015.

Aiena said he spoke with members of Soolman’s family on Sunday, while the South players were given the opportunity on Monday to write personal notes to the family.

“As long as I’ve known him,” Aiena said, “there is so much more I don’t know about him.”

There is an extensive essay on Soolman, an accountant who was also a published novelist and stage writer, on the Boston Park League’s website titled: “A Long Ride: The Harvey Soolman Story.”

Former North assistant coach and Post 440 American League manager James Greeley has agreed to help with the junior varsity program through the rest of the season.

“He was my second call,” Aiena said after notifying Gonzalez first. “At that point, I didn’t know what our situation was. But I knew we needed somebody. I knew he had just finished his season (coaching) at Newbury College. I thought maybe he could help since he was in the school system already. Luckily, he said ‘yes’ in a heartbeat.”

The South teams are scheduled to return to action with a slate of games Wednesday against Waltham High.

“The rest of the season is all about life,” Gonzalez said, “and getting together, and to heal. Baseball, unfortunately, takes a second place right here. They are going to keep working and doing the best they can. But the mental health of the kids is most important.

“We are telling them there is no right or wrong way to express emotion. Sometimes we cry, some of us do not. Some of us do it in public, some of us do it in private. Either way, it’s OK.”